Do you have a safe place?

[RUtalkingtome]

Not an actual place, but could be, but a thing that you do to escape the stress of OCD? Mine is watching reruns of Heartland, a show about a ranching family in Alberta, Canada.

I go there because people are genuinely nice to each other, no shootem' up or diabolical back stabbing. It calms me down and takes the focus off my ruminations. I know this is not a cure and I have to find ways in my mind to tackle the ruminations, but it works for now.

Anyone else.

[Lauragbr]

watching old reruns of Family. A 70’s show

[Sallyskins]

For me, sewing and needlework help. I like hand sewing and do a lot of quilting, patchwork, applique and dressmaking (though my grandmother's old sewing machine, which I have, is great for long seams!)

I have some favourite books which cheer me up. Jerome K Jerome's book Three Men in a Boat (first published 1889) is a classic gentle comedy about three men and a dog on a river trip. It's been a favourite of mine for many years - I first read it when I was 14. I have other favourite books too - Elizabeth von Armin's The Enchanted April, Thackeray's Vanity Fair and Shakespeare. Comedy really helps. I read a lot of poetry too.

I also find that writing is a great way to concentrate the mind, whether it's researching and writing stuff on historical subjects, or fiction.

I think that things that involve creativity are helpful. I think most of us have a creative urge one way or another - it could be playing the guitar, making cakes, drawing and painting, etc. There's a sense of satisfaction in creating something beautiful. So many people think that it's not for them - that they aren't artistic enough - but they often have untapped talents.

And of course, going for a walk where there are lots of trees, and greenery. I have the river at the bottom of my road - it's beautiful around there.

I haven't heard of the series Heartland - I shall have to check it out! I'm Canadian - born near Toronto - though I've lived in England for many years. It sounds like a nice thing to watch.

[RUtalkingtome in reply to Sallyskins]

Thanks for sharing, I have a shop and I like to do projects around the house, and of course I like pickleball because I can get together with my friends. With them, for some reason, the OCD is not present when we're together. We're all in our 60s and mostly retired. I get giddy when I'm headed out the door for pickleball.

I also like reading old Saturday Evening Posts, I have a subscription to the whole archive, it puts me in another time and place. I always thought if I taught American History I would use SEP as a guide, it's unfiltered.

Heartland is on netflix.

Also, my G-G Grandmother (Minnie) was Tuscarora First Nationfrom southern Ontario. She married a young man right off the boat from East London, H..... Colston, and they settled in Binghamton, NY. He was 17 and she was 20. He left England because there were too many kids in the family and they couldn't afford to feed him anymore. He died in 1904 in a motorcycle accident when my grandfather six.

[Sallyskins in reply to RUtalkingtome]

I think connecting with friend is really important - I'm not surprised your OCD disappears when you're with yours. Friends are more than a distraction from the OCD - they're necessary to our wellbeing. I live on my own and my social life isn't exactly the wild whirl it was in my twenties but I try to meet up with friends and family when I can and I'm in some supportive WhatsApp groups.

I too love history. I bet there is loads of stuff to interest you in that archive.

That's really interesting about your great-great grandparents. A lot of people left England for Canada and the USA for a better standard of living - and once you got to your teens you were supposed to earn your own keep in many families. I'm afraid my ancestry doesn't include anything so interesting as First Nations people - it's just English all the way back as far as I've managed to discover!

[BlueType in reply to RUtalkingtome]

Sally and you may enjoy the Internet archive, and/or the way back machine.

Extra suggestion is defonic, for background noise. Both take care.